RichRod favors paying athletes extra… in food

Posted by Ben Kercheval on July 3, 2012, 8:08 AM EDT

AP

Unrelated: I’ve decided to walk on at the University of Arizona. Reasons aren’t important.

What is important is trying to figure out how college athletes can get more money beyond the value of their athletic scholarship now that a four-team playoff with seemingly unlimited revenue potential has been approved. The subject matter is a controversial and admittedly complex one, currently up for further examination within the NCAA after a majority of schools voted to suspend the legislation late last year.

Anyway, here’s what Rodriguez had to say on the Tim Brando Show Monday:

“Let’s allow all the schools to give all the athletes meals. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Right now, they get meals, but it comes out of their scholarship check. Let’s provide meals on top of the scholarship. Let us feed them breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

“If nothing else, that’s an easy solution to help them get through their college careers. And everyone wants to feed them right? I think that’s an easier solution than trying to figure out what kind of stipend to give them.”

Athletic departments already provide their athletes with bountiful resources and coaching staffs are always worried about their players’ diets anyway, so this seems like a logical way to give them more while maintaining control.

On first reading this seems funny, but upon reading it again and thinking it over, if the meals are in addition to the scholarship money, that would free up hundreds of dollars per month of scholarship money to each player.

That would be a start to start to bring the scholarship amount into the general area of the costs of actually attending the school. At present, many athletes have to borrow funds from relatives and try to work a job a few hours per day with very flexible schedules to help make ends meet.

Surprise, but Rich Rodrigues makes sense on this one.

A shout out for our home boy, Tim Brando! When next you are in Louisiana give us a shout and we’ll make sure you get some crawfish etoufee delivered to you.

Who would have thought that a mountaineer would agree with RichRod? Oh well. Thumbs up on this one. A great idea.
The government gives out food stamps, why not universities. After all in this case they are getting a great return for their money.
FEED THEM!!!!!

Random: I just found out they filmed Revenge of the Nerds at the U of A. Rad.

cubano76 says:Jul 3, 2012 10:26 AM

I actually agree w/ him on this one. And will you look at that, a pig just flew by my window. Amazing things happening today.

handsofsweed says:Jul 3, 2012 10:45 AM

I wonder if this would help schools like Vandy and Duke recruit (who have to be among the most expensive schools in Div 1-A). If they have really expensive food plans, then that’s potentially a lot of extra cash pocketed per month for a football player if this idea sticks.

Or really, any school with an expensive food plan. Ha. Can you imagine recruiting a kid in his living room and he asks you “Um, so how much per year is the food plan @ XSU? The one at your rival, ZSU, is $x per month.”

handsofsweed says:Jul 3, 2012 10:49 AM

And think about this, do all the big boys in I-A start jacking up their food plan prices in order to be able to then use that “refunded difference” as a SERIOUSLY MAJOR recruiting tool?

And how mother-effing mad will the rest of the non-athlete student population get when they have to start paying more for food, just so their school can bring in football talent?

indywvu says:Jul 3, 2012 11:51 AM

I agree with this. It’s a way to help the kids without just handing out more dollars directly to them that they can blow stupidly.

thekatman says:Jul 3, 2012 11:58 AM

Athletes that attend schools in expensive locations, like Los Angeles, usually have about $10 at the end of the week to eat over the weekend, becasue of the high price of food. Rich Rod’s idea is a great idea for these kids.

Yes, they get a scholarship to play football at the school of their choice, but this schollie has so many restrictions that other schollies don’t have.

The “full cost” of attending that school must be taken into account when accounting for the cost of a scchollie, and provide those items that contribute to the full cost of a schollie to the package for the athlete.
It’s only the right thing to do, but then agian, who ever said the NCAA knows what the right thing to do is?

I think that is a great idea, food instead of $, less trouble to get into. Good job Coach Rodriguez, I hope that idea gathers steam.

mountaineer50415 says:Jul 3, 2012 2:18 PM

I would think that this would have been taken care of from the beginning of college football. After all, how can an athlete perform if they are not eating well. Eating balanced meals should be a part of their contract. Who wants an underfed guy trying to run 99 yards after a fumble? Would have never made it to the point of abusing a fruit!!!!
If a person is in school on a scholarship they do not have the money others may have. If they are playing ball and studying they have no time to work. Just makes sense to feed them.
They, however, do not need extra money to buy drugs. Drugs should break their contract.

Hello Rich, the schools already pay for their meals. It’s the board part of room and board. The get free educations, books (hopefully used for more than balancing their apartment tables), tutors and food. I know you want to be like South Carolina and pay their legal bills as well as an allowance also, but one media darling scumbag head coach (Spurrier) is too many.

westlaw1 says:Jul 3, 2012 7:53 PM

Considering the diet that athletes are required to maintain, or the extra calories that they need to consume, it seems odd that R.R.’s recommendations are not currently the norm.

Michael Phelps is believed to eat 3,800 to 4,500 calories a day when training. He also claimed to eat 12,000 per day during the Olympics.